Posted on 05/09/2015 5:53:54 AM PDT by cuban leaf
That is exactly right. Things are very dumbed down in the regular schools.
I actually utilized something called “God led” homeschooling, advocated in Wisdom’s Way of Learning.
I agree with your posts of concern for the children. We aren’t there and don’t know, but God knows. God’s will be done for their best interests, whichever way that might be.
I guess we’ll disagree. As far as I’m concerned, unless the kid has a DOCUMENTED learning disability, he sure as heck better be reading at age 12, if not half that age. If not then whatever is being done (be it unschooling or home schooling, or public schooling) is CLEARLY not working. I would NEVER let my kid get to that age without being toilet trained, nor would I let him get to that age without being able to read - I would at least find out his problem.
Re: “The state can’t even educate the kids they’ve got in their own schools.” “That is exactly right. Things are very dumbed down in the regular schools”
I am all for homeschooling, and that every parent has that God given right to educate their children as they see fit.
As to public schools, I would venture to guess that the vast majority of those who post on FR were probably educated in public school for most if not all their education - yet, somehow, I would also venture to guess that most of us came out ok, and, probably got a descent enough education to function in the business world.
I graduated public school in 1972. I received a good education for the primary reason that most anyone gets a good education - whether in public school or homeschool or private school, etc., and that’s because of the influence of our parents.
My parents were not college educated and attended public schools in the 1930s and 40s. They wanted me to succeed in life so they made sure I did my homework, was properly clothed and fed, taught personal discipline and hygiene, and attended church. They kept track of my grades and did whatever was necessary for me to make it through school. I got my first job while in 9th grade working at an airport as a night janitor, plus fueling small private planes, washing them, cleaning them,etc.
All my friends went to public school. All my children went to public schools and have graduated and either finished college or attended a post high school private vocational school for a specific type of vocational training to start his own business.
My point is not that public schools are great or the worst, or that homeschooling is best or worst - my point is that the common denominator in all these situations is the involvement of the parents.
The public schools definitely deserve some of the blame for why some kids fail to get the basics in reading, writing, and math - but, from my viewpoint, the bigger problem BY FAR is the destruction of the family.
When I was a kid in school in the 1960s, the vast majority of my friends all had intact, two parent families, with extended family members living nearby to boot. The families supported the schools and the schools supported the families. That is no longer the case, oftentimes with good reason.
Even the few kids who had single parents, that parent usually did all they could to see their kid succeeded in school.
Most parents, even today, whether single parent, two parents, and no matter the race - most parents want their kids to succeed in education. You can see this even in the lowest economic areas where, when given a choice to attend a better school, the parents of all ethnic groups strive to get their kids into that school.
But, with the destruction of the family and the fact that most kids in school today have only a single parent, it is doubly difficult for a single parent to keep track of their kids I school, not impossible, but still very difficult.
Adding to that difficulty is the federal government encouraging and feeding into the victiim-hood ideology, creating more and more dependency, and worse, taking over the parental role in kids lives. And some parents don’t need much encouragement to let the government take over that role. In fact, some parents only concern for public school is that it is their “daycare service”.
Of course it is the moral and political ideology of the democrats, and now apparently much of the Republican Party, that has pushed the country in this direction over the past 60 years. I no longer recognize my own country. But, we got this way because most people voted for it. They wanted this stuff. Just as the government is a reflection of the beliefs and morality of the people, so are public schools. Things tolerated today would never have been tolerated just a few decades ago.
.
Your army of ‘Ben Franklins’....look around. Do they exist in 2015? Your opportunity in life? Looking for a job with the fire department, the post office or police department? Forget it...either present the GED or HS diploma. Bank job? Nope. Want an apprentice-type field? They will want to see some GED or diploma...else they wake up on day one to realize you can only add/subtract...but can’t grasp division or multiplication.
The ‘Ben Franklin’ crowd? It was a fantastic group....they had private tutors that came through and introduced Jefferson, Washington, and Franklin to Latin, Roman history, and Socrates. Because of the typical small size of a couple of kids from the family....you could quickly run through a lesson, give some reading/home work assignment, and a 12-year old kid in 1750 might have been as bright as a 18-year old kid today.
“Unschooling”? Pause for a minute and review how this works. There’s no tutor, no class environment, no maps on the wall, no text-book, no curriculum, and absolutely nothing that the Ben Franklin kids would have had as assets in their learning process. Put Ben Franklin in a unschool environment, and he would have never gone onto his greatness.
I wouldn’t personally care about this whole episode, except I seem to suspect by age forty....these kids will start to show up at some welfare office and demonstrate they are capable of cutting firewood, flipping burgers, etc. They will be put on some form of welfare or government aid. It’s not their fault....it’s the parent’s responsibility but they are long-gone out of the picture. So I help to contribute tax revenue to pay for the parent’s mistakes.
And don’t talk up their positive life skills unschooling. The last time I looked....you need at least a ninth-grade reading ability to handle a tractor repair manual, and needed at least 8th grade math skills to function with most of life’s responsibilities. It might be helpful to know the Constitution but if you never got introduced to it....how would you know your rights?
Your army of ‘Ben Franklins’....look around. Do they exist in 2015? Your opportunity in life? Looking for a job with the fire department, the post office or police department? Forget it...either present the GED or HS diploma. Bank job? Nope. Want an apprentice-type field? They will want to see some GED or diploma...else they wake up on day one to realize you can only add/subtract...but can’t grasp division or multiplication.
The ‘Ben Franklin’ crowd? It was a fantastic group....they had private tutors that came through and introduced Jefferson, Washington, and Franklin to Latin, Roman history, and Socrates. Because of the typical small size of a couple of kids from the family....you could quickly run through a lesson, give some reading/home work assignment, and a 12-year old kid in 1750 might have been as bright as a 18-year old kid today.
“Unschooling”? Pause for a minute and review how this works. There’s no tutor, no class environment, no maps on the wall, no text-book, no curriculum, and absolutely nothing that the Ben Franklin kids would have had as assets in their learning process. Put Ben Franklin in a unschool environment, and he would have never gone onto his greatness.
I wouldn’t personally care about this whole episode, except I seem to suspect by age forty....these kids will start to show up at some welfare office and demonstrate they are capable of cutting firewood, flipping burgers, etc. They will be put on some form of welfare or government aid. It’s not their fault....it’s the parent’s responsibility but they are long-gone out of the picture. So I help to contribute tax revenue to pay for the parent’s mistakes.
And don’t talk up their positive life skills unschooling. The last time I looked....you need at least a ninth-grade reading ability to handle a tractor repair manual, and needed at least 8th grade math skills to function with most of life’s responsibilities. It might be helpful to know the Constitution but if you never got introduced to it....how would you know your rights?
Reading level? Grasp of math? Can’t write basic English text? Jobs are being given to people who don’t have these requirements every day because of Liberal Affirmative Action policies and “equality” for minorities. Why don’t we just make “free range” another one of those categories? Problem solved.
As for your distain for pumping gas, mowing grass and stocking shelves? It’s another Liberal pomposity to intimate that people who do those kinds of jobs are anything less than a lump with a college degree who runs the copy machine. Everyone in the world can’t be white collar and all work is necessary and honorable. It’s finding people honorable enough to do it that’s the problem nowadays.
These children are obviously not malnourished or physically abused. While I, personally wouldn’t choose to live this way; if I DID choose to I would fully expect to be left alone.
But I grew up making mud pies, having mud fights with my sister and generally being a little heathen during the summer months on my childhood homeplace. I didn’t put on a pair of shoes from June until school started in September. I did, indeed, learn much about life and gained a lot of common sense from those times that has served me well in all my years. I rather think that children who have never had even a short time of being “free range” are deprived also.
https://www.facebook.com/MyBlessedLittleHomestead
https://www.youtube.com/user/BlessedLittleHomestd
http://www.circleofmoms.com/blogger/blessed-little-homestead
It just makes me ill to think about “little kids” being ripped from the arms of a screaming mother in the USA.
I want to reiterate though that I am not against CPS agencies across the nation when they are acting in a correct and lawful and thoughtful manner. There is no question some kids need rescuing. It just “sounds” in this case like the government agency involved may have moved too quickly.
Just an observation: The kids look healthy and happy (not to mention dirty) in the photos.
Unless there is evidence of significant crimes or physical/sexual abuse the gov’t has overstepped once again.
Believe it or not there are freepers with and 8th grade eduction who have done very well for themselves.
I understand how unschooling works. It sounds wonderful to me. We home schooled our kids, but I would have preferred unschooling.
Mass schooling is a historical aberration and progressive project that’s only 150 years old.
Look up “The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher.” It’s a brief essay by a former teacher. See if what Gatto says resonates with your experience of schooling.
The progressives have done a great job in making schooling and education synonymous. While they sometime intersect, they are not the same thing.
YOU have a reading assignment.
Begin here:
https://archive.lewrockwell.com/gatto/gatto-uhae-pre.html
Links to subsequent chapters and the Epilogue are at the bottom of the page.
Only sometimes?
Seriously, though — FB is a two-edged sword: all you post can be used against you. I gave it up for Lent, this year; the abstinence may well become permanent.
The question is...... are the parents worth a damn
It would appear not
Oh, is Detroit a gentrifying neighborhood?
Seriously...
The lack of heat and running water sort of makes the move a wash, but these folks from KY would probably not be interested in trading their trees and wildlife for Detroit’s breed of “wildlife.”
In 2015, I watched an interview of a California mother who’d taken her two daughters out of regular school, and instead of home-schooling....was going to ‘free-range’ type situation. No structure...no work-books....no reading assignment....nothing. The kids could do whatever they wanted or avoid things they didn’t want to do.
I see this open door on home-schooling as having some advantages, but there are serious and negative disadvantages. Maybe up til the 1930s...you could be dumb as dirt and still get some kind of job somewhere, with 2nd grade reading ability, and third-grade math skills.
In today’s environment, you could still get a minimum wage job just washing cars, carrying groceries, and mowing grass. Beyond that...a 18-year old kid with almost no educational skills is of no use to anyone much.
So I’m not naive enough to buy off on this situation. If you want civilization to consist of a bunch of burger-flippers, you might want to consider the implications. Even a carpenter or roofer needs a minimum of 10th grade math skills.
When did you last spend any time in a public school? It’s no longer the 1950’s or 1960’s.
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